New York Latest Target of Black Anti-Abortion Billboards

New York Latest Target of Black Anti-Abortion BillboardsLynette Holloway, The Root | February 24, 2011

**Update: A controversial ad that raised the ire of Planned Parenthood and the mom of the child depicted in it will be taken down, according to a statement by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s office.

It’s safe to say that few things shock New Yorkers. But a new anti-abortion billboard erected in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood has created a firestorm of controversy. It depicts the image of a pensive 6-year-old girl in a red sleeveless summer dress beneath these ominous and portentous words: “The Most Dangerous Place for an African American Is in the Womb.”

The billboard — placed at the bustling intersection of Sixth Avenue and Watts Street by the nonprofit pro-life organizations Life Always and thatsabortion.com — is about half a mile from one of three Planned Parenthood locations. Those facilities jointly reported nearly 17,000 pregnancy terminations in 2010, according to Life Always. A Planned Parenthood spokesman confirmed that number, adding that about 92 percent of terminations were conducted during the first trimester. Twenty-eight percent were medication-induced abortions performed within the first nine weeks.

Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice advocates have lashed out against the startling advertisement. In a prepared statement, Planned Parenthood called the billboard “an offensive and condescending effort to stigmatize and shame African-American women while attempting to discredit the work of Planned Parenthood.” (Read more)

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